CFPB Reports Consumers Complain About Disputed Credit Card Charges

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released its monthly complaint snapshot Tuesday (March 28) in which it reported that consumers continue to report problems when trying to fight charges on their credit cards.

In a press release highlighting its findings, the CFPB said that as of March 1 of this year, it has handled around 1.12 million consumer complaints across all products.

“Credit cards are a vital financial tool used daily by more than half of all adults in this country,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray in the press release. “Consumers deserve clear guidance and need to be able to resolve problems that arise with their cards.”

The CFPB said it started collecting complaints about credit cards in July of 2011, and as of March 1 of 2017, the CFPB has handled around 116,200 credit card complaints, with a major issue with consumers being fraudulent charges. According to the CFPB, consumers have complained about being billed for charges they didn’t initiate or other unauthorized users on their accounts. The consumers said they had a hard time getting the charges removed even after receiving notification from the card company that the dispute had been resolved in their favor.

Another complaint among consumers is confusion over rewards programs, with the CFPB saying consumers reported issues with taking advantage of offered benefits after meeting the requirements of bonus points, miles programs, cash back programs and travel discount programs. Some of the consumers complained the information online about the programs differed from what the customer service reps told them.

Other credit card complaints included victims reporting being victims of identity theft. The CFPB found the three companies that have the most average monthly complaints are Citibank, Capital One and JPMorgan Chase.